(Me) Okay
(Bryant) 8:30 Nona Rosa's
(Me) Okay, I'm still pissed at you!
(Bryant) I know; the roses were an apology.
(Me) Right. Lisa has them.
(Bryant) ???
(Me) I was with a client when they arrived yesterday.
(Bryant) Ah oh.
(Me) Thanks :)
(Bryant) I love you.
(Me) I know.
* * *
Stone calls to inform me he’s at my office. I send him back a quick text to let him know I'm running late. I know it’s bad business, but I totally forgot I asked him to come to my office on my day off. I get dressed in milliseconds and freshen my mouth, because morning breath is not the impression I want to make. I could have asked Stone to come to my home, but I'm not that comfortable with him yet.
I get there and I'm greeted at the door with a hug from Stone. I let the both of us in and lock the doors behind me.
“Let me show you to my office.” When we get there, he has an astonished look on his face.
“So this is where Ms. B makes it all happen?” he says while still looking around.
“No, I do all that from the comfort of my bed.”
“Your bed? Sounds nice.”
“Stop it, Stone,” I say as I begin to blush. He holds up his hands in surrender.
“So tell me, how was everything? The hotel, the setup? Did she enjoy herself?”
He smiles. “She did, but slow down. I can’t keep up.” He laughs.
“I haven't even had my morning coffee yet, so you're lucky.”
“Wow, do you ever come up for air?”
“Well... I do, but in different situations,” I say seductively.
“Oh... hmm, sounds like something worth discovering,” he says, stepping closer to me. I remember I can't get involved with this man. So I take a step back to open some distance. Too much of him and I'll find myself sprawled across my desk. Just the thought has me warm.
“Have a seat, Stone. So tell me how everything was?”
He smiles again. “She was impressed with everything, the car, the set-up. My companionship. The fundraiser was pretty cool.”
“Yeah?” I question with a delighted smile.
“Yep, it was for cancer. Something close to home, you know.”
“Right, how's your mother?”
“She's doing well; she's getting stronger and looking good every day.”
“That's great, Stone; it really is.” His mood seems to change with this conversation, but it's understandable.
“I checked my account today,” he smiled.
“Right, your earnings were transferred at midnight. Make sure you keep all receipts, turn them in to me weekly if you can. I like to keep copies and itemize some things. I normally reimburse you.”
“Cool,” he says. He puts his hand on his chin and looks as if he wants to say something. Of course, I call him on it. The last thing I want is for him or anyone else in my circle to be reluctant to speak to me.
“What's going on, you look concerned about something. Did I pay you enough?”
He laughs. “No, B, that's not it. I received a phone call from one of the ladies I used to see as a client. She's in town and she wants to see me.”
“No can do, Stone.”
“I told her that.”
“I'll have to get a background check on her first.”
“She's visiting family; she'll be here a few weeks.”
“Do you want to see her?” I ask.
“I do, but I'm not going to see her just to talk,” he says sarcastically.
“Did she say what she wanted?”
He laughs. “Uh, yeah.” He points south to his lap.
“Oh, right,” I say, embarrassed I didn't catch that. It went completely over my head. “Okay, I need her first and last name if she wants to see you. I'll contact her; is she private?”
“Oh, absolutely, her sons are around my age.”
“Oh, okay. Wow, you said she's a friend of your mother's?” I ask him to make sure his story didn't change. I feel confident with Stone, but I have to test everyone. Trust is a big issue with me. If you lie to me that means you think I'm capable of being stupid.
“So you don't know her sons?”
“No, never met them.”
“How did your mother and she meet?”
“She's a donor, both monetary and organs.”
“Makes sense.” I nod. I open my email to send to Tripp. “What's her name, Stone?”
“Georgia Alexandre,” Stone tells me. I send Tripp the information to get her checked out. He gives me a call back to let me know about BP, who I now know is Bruce Pierce. Speaking to him briefly, he informs me that Georgia is going to be two days longer. She's a financial donor; all of her files will take more time.
“Okay, Tripp, no problem. Thanks,” I say ending the call.
“Stone, were you okay with your last event?”
“Yeah, for sure.”
“Can I ask you a question; it’s personal?”
“Sure.”
“Did you have sex?”
“No,” he answers as he shakes his head.
“Okay, I just wanted to make sure you are using protection. Remember, you test every thirty days as stated in the contract. Eventually, I'll change it to every sixty days.” He nods. “Sorry, I feel like a mother sometimes, but I have to keep you protected. So far you're my number one.” He laughs. “I need to take care of you.”
“For sure.” He nods.
“Let me know if you’ll need anything. I'll contact Georgia for you to set things up, and get a feel for what she wants. Maybe she does just want to talk, but I'll find out all of that. I want her to understand what purpose I serve for you. Is that okay?”
“Of course, I'd rather let you tell her than me. She'll try to manipulate me.”
“Oh, really? I see. What are your plans for today?” I ask him.
“Are you asking me on a date, B? I'm expensive,” he says. I laugh as he stands to leave.
“I can afford you if I wanted to, Stone,” I say again in my seductive voice. It just flows from me at any given time. I surprise myself sometimes.
“Good answer, so what's your first name?”
“I've allowed you to come to my office and you didn't notice my name on the outside of my door?” I give him a one-eyebrow look. He walks to my door and looks at the nametag on the outside of the door.
“Ahhh… perfect,” he says.
“Have a great day, Mike.” He turns and gives me that panty-dropping smile.
“You too, B.”
It's 2:15; there hasn't been any attempt from Cruz to contact me. I text Bryant to ask if he's heard from him. He informs me he had lunch with him two hours ago.
“Okay,” I say to myself aloud.
(Me) Is he joining us for dinner?
(Bryant) No. Just you and me. I need no distractions tonight, Bree.
(Me) Okay, I was just asking.
(Bryant) See you in a few hours.
* * *
I have a meeting at the Local Bar in forty-five minutes. I clean up my desk, because technically I'm not supposed to be here. So I will not be returning. I make sure all things are in order as I leave the office. I remember that I asked Ford to accompany me. He stated he would be early, but I'm only five minutes away. When I pull up, I see Ford standing at a black SUV, he spots me while I'm parking. He comes to my car as I'm gathering paperwork. He opens my door to help me out. The only con about my Infiniti is that it sits low to the ground. So trying to get out of it ladylike is a challenge. Ford grabs my hand as he lifts me from the car. “Such a gentleman, you are.”
“No problem, boss.” Ford is on his job and he makes me feel safe. He closes my door and takes my briefcase like a true security-detail agent. I think I'm going to like being a boss, truly a power trip for me. He opens the door and ushers me in. The Local Bar is just that, we pretty much seat ourselves unless the customer asks for a booth. Today i
s that day, we are seated immediately, and Ford is quiet. I give him a playful shoulder-to-shoulder shrug. It breaks his serious demeanor as he smiles.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, B, just observant.”
“Are you okay calling me B?”
“If that's what you prefer. I'm here for you to do as you ask,” he says so seriously. I take out a small piece of paper and a pen. I write on it and slide it to Ford. He reads it, smiles, and nods.
I notice that he seated me first in the booth; he's on the outside. I guess that's a protection tactic. My phone chimes. It's a text from Bruce. He's in the parking lot. I send him one back to let him know where we are. Ford gets up from the booth to escort him back to our table. When he arrives back, he comes back with... HOLY FUCKING SHIT.
Bruce.
Ford shows him to the seat, but he doesn't sit right away. He didn't quite notice me at first; but when he does, we just stare at each other not saying a word. Ford is standing there confused.
“Bruce, have a seat,” I say. He does, but still is silent. Ford stands at the booth awaiting my instructions.
“Ford, you can have a seat if you like.”
“No thanks, boss, I'm fine.” I like Ford... Jon Ford, he is.
“Bruce Pierce, who'd have thought.” He shrugs as if he's nervous. He should be after that speech about loving his job at the health club and begging me not to file charges. Life and God have a funny sense of humor. Now I have to figure out how to play this revelation.
“First let's get this squared away.” I hand him a disclosure form. “All this says is that whatever is spoken about at this table, stays at this table.” He nods in agreement. He looks up after signing.
“So all of this won't be discussed with anyone else?” he asks.
“That is correct. My business is not a secret; but it's a discreet society, if you will.” He nods. “And to answer your next question, Bruce. No he doesn't.” I'm referring to Cruz. “He doesn't know about any of this,” I repeat. He nods again. “Are you leaving the health club?”
“I hadn't planned on it.”
“So you'll want to do this part-time?”
“What exactly is this, Ms. Watts?” I wince at his mistake.
“It's B, Bruce.” He notices right away, and Ford turns around to look at him as if he’s stupid or in trouble. He shakes his head, turns back around, and mumbles something that sounded like “idiot” under his breath. Bruce has the look of embarrassment on his face. I want to laugh; but I can't show that side, if I want this guy to take me serious in this business.
“B, are you who I’ll be seeing?”
“No, Bruce.” I laugh, that’s not how this works. Ford laughs as he shakes his head. I like Ford; I really do. I give Bruce the version of the business that should scare him away. I need to know how big his balls are. It’s doesn’t though, he still wants to be part of my team. He has agreed to work part time with me and at the gym. That will be difficult, being the manager of the gym. Cruz will want to know what’s going on. He has to believe Bruce wants a career in management and he has taken another part-time management position to prepare him for it. That’s the story I give him to feed to his current boss.
“Bruce, one thing I like to do for discretion is use your last name. No one should ever know it’s your last name. You never disclose it being real or fake. So from here on, in this world, you are Pierce.”
* * *
“This has been a very productive day, Ford.” He looks down at me as we walk across the parking. As we walk toward my car, I notice there’s some discoloration on my door. It looks like my car has been keyed. “What the fuck!” Not a normal across the door scratch. There’s a double scratch leading down the door, not across. The entire door panel will need to be replaced; this is great. Whoever did this took their time.
“Stay here, Bria.” He circles my car to make sure no one is still in the area. He touches the scratches as he looks around. ‘Whoever did this just did it. These scratches are fresh. Do you know a body shop?”
“No, just the dealership,” I say.
“Call your insurance company. Have them tow your car to the nearest dealer. I’ll take you home.”
“Okay. No, wait. Ford, I’m having dinner with my best friend.” He shakes his head.
“No?” I question.
“Bria, whoever did this is still in the area, probably watching.” I look around while trying to dial the insurance company. An eerie feeling comes over me while standing there. To think that someone may be watching me doesn’t sit well in my stomach.
“Come on,” Ford says, directing me to his vehicle. He opens the door to his Range Rover and helps me in.
“You comfortable?” he asks and I nod, still holding the phone to my ear. I arrange for the insurance company to pick up my car. It’s 5:20; the dealership is still open. I call them quickly to schedule the drop off.
“Ford, I’m going to need a rental while my car is being repaired. They are closed now, but can you come by my house in the morning to pick me up?”
“Yes, I can, Bria. But you need to call the police. Also think about who could have done this.”
“I can’t even imagine; this could be random, Ford. It’s not that big a deal. I’ll have it repaired and all will be well in Minnesota.” I laugh and play calm. But in reality, I’m losing my fucking mind! MY CAR WAS KEYED! MY CAR! My well taken care of vehicle was violated. OHHH GAWD! I want to flip a table and throw some shit, but I can’t. I can’t let Ford see me lose my cool. It’s just a car. A car.
As we wait, Bruce comes from the bar. He sees me sitting in Ford’s truck. I wave for him to come over.
“Hi, Pierce, when you were coming in, did you happen to notice anyone in this area?”
“No, the parking lot was pretty much empty when I arrived.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“Is everything okay?” he asks.
“Yeah, everything’s cool, I’ll contact you tomorrow. I may have something for you.”
“Okay.” He nods.
Ford is on the phone when I’m done talking to Pierce.
“Police are on the way.”
“Huh, why did you call the police?”
“They need to be notified, Bria.”
“Crap! Okay.” I dial my phone again. “Hi, Tripp, how are you?” He sounds winded over the phone. “Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“No, working out. What’s up?”
“My car was vandalized at the Local Bar. Can you get footage from the security cameras?”
“I can try if the police haven’t been notified,” he informs me. I smack the dashboard of Ford’s truck. “They have,” I say, sounding defeated as I look over at Ford who’s looking suspiciously pissed.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Okay, thanks, Tripp.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he could try to get the footage, but he’s not sure because the police are involved now. Speaking of, here they are, Minnesota’s finest.” Ford gets out of the truck. He goes over to the car where the police officer is. They are having a conversation that I feel I need to be a part of. He comes back to the truck and opens the door for me to get out.
“He needs some information, Bria.”
“Okay,” I say, as he helps me from the truck. I’m nervous as hell, but I don’t know why. I’ve never had any trouble with the law, but I’ve never been a fan of forced authority.
“Hi, officer.”
“Hello, Ms. Watts. It looks like you’ve been keyed.”
He did not just… I laugh to myself. What I want to do is snatch his gun from his holster and pistol-whip his genius ass. But I settle for the more simple action.
“Yeah, not sure who would do this.” The officer looks up from writing.
“You sure about that?”
“I’m sure, officer,” I say with a quickly developed attitude.
“No exes; no ex-girlfriends?”
“No, none
, officer.”
“I was in the bar with Ms. Watts. We had a meeting and it may have been random.” The officer looks at the damage and laughs a bit. “This doesn’t look random. I’ll see if the bar has a security camera facing this lot.”
“Okay,” I say to the officer, but turn and give Ford a disgusted look. I’m kind of pissed that he’s kind of smart. But I’m not implying all police officers are not smart. They have a cockiness about themselves which makes them seem dumb sometimes. The ones who push paperwork or never want to perform any legwork to make a difference or vise-versa. It’s funny that they compete with each other. I thought they were all working to achieve the same purpose… Protect and Serve. Riiiight
I hope Tripp can get to the security cameras before the police department does. My phone chimes, I quickly glance at it. It’s a message from Bryant.
Hey you, don’t forget about me tonight.
Why would he text me that? Although for a brief minute, I did forget, but he doesn’t know that.
“Ford, I really have to make these dinner plans with my best friend. You’ll have to take me; I can get a ride home.” Ford rubs his face and chin.
“Bria, I don’t know.” He has called me by my name since I’ve informed him of what it was.
“This is just random, Ford.” I shrug my shoulders. Only I know about the flat tires last week.
“Are you sure?
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
“Ms. Watts, your license plates came back as vandalized a little over a week ago. You had all flats one night, right?” Damn Barney Fife.
“Yeah, I forgot about that.” I didn’t, I just don’t want Ford to overreact.
“Yeah, a C. King called it in.”
“Really? He didn’t tell me that he reported it.” What the hell?
“Well, he reported it. You sure an ex didn’t do this?” the genius officer asks.
“I’m sure. If an ex from high school could do this from Connecticut, he’d be the world’s best criminal.”
“You sure you don’t have a lover or anything?” Fucker is getting too personal.
“No, officer,” I say, becoming a bit annoyed.
“Okay,” he says. “We’ll call this random for now.”
“For now?” I repeat.
“Yes. For now,” he repeats after me. He seems to be the one who’s annoyed now.
What They Don't Know (Won't Hurt Them Trilogy #1) Page 25
